no sound. But she gathered her strength, and, with
pitiful pleading, stretched out her arms.

"Tristram--I have come to tell you--I have never had a lover: Mimo was
at last married to _Maman_. He was her lover, and Mirko was their
child--my little brother. My uncle did not wish me to tell you this for
a time, because it was the family disgrace." Then, as he made a step
forward to her, with passionate joy in his face, she went on:

"Tristram! You said, that night--before you would ever ask me to be your
wife again, I must go down upon my knees--See--I do!--for Oh!--I love
you!" And suddenly she bent and knelt before him, and bowed her proud
head.

But she did not stay in this position a second, for he clasped her in
his arms, and rained mad, triumphant kisses upon her beautiful, curved
lips, while he murmured,

"At last--my Love--my own!"

* * * * *

Then when the delirium of joy had subsided a little,--with what
tenderness he took off her hat and furs, and drew her into his arms, on
the sofa before the fire.--The superlative happiness to feel her resting
there, unresisting, safe in his fond embrace, with those eyes, which had
been so stormy and resentful, now melting upon him in softest passion.

It seemed heaven to them both. They could not speak coherent sentences
for a while--just over and over again they told each other that they
loved.--It seemed as if he could not hear her sweet confession often
enough--or quench the thirst of his parched soul upon her lips.

Then the masterfulness in him which Zara now adored asserted itself. He
must play with her hair! He must undo it, and caress its waves, to blot
out all remembrance of how its forbidden beauty had tortured him.--And
she just lay there in his arms, in one of her silences, only her eyes
were slumberous with love.

But at last she said, nestling closer,

"Tristram, won't you listen to the story that I must tell you? I want
there never to be any more mysteries between us again--"

And, to content her, he brought himself back to earth--

"Only I warn you, my darling," he said, "all such things are side
issues for me now that at last we have obtained the only thing which
really matters in life--we know that we love each other, and are not
going to be so foolish as to part again for a single hour--if we can
help it--for the rest of time."

And then his whole face lit up with radiant joy, and he suddenly buried
it in her